Harry Potter and the Deathly IB

Dedication: for my friend, Miss SC, whom I miss dearly, and whom I know awaits the next Harry Potter with more anicipation than I do (if that's possible). Thank you for the email. x

Deathly

adj.
1. Of, resembling, or characteristic of death: a deathly silence.
2. Causing death; fatal.

If J. K. Rowling wrote about Harry and the IB, that's my title prediction. Clearly, I am referring to deathly in the second meaning of the word. Of course, I believe if Harry did the IB, he'd suffer far more than he has constantly fighting Voldemort over the past six books combined. What about "Harry Potter and the Unforgivable IB" or "Harry Potter and the Prison of IB" or, better yet, "Harry Potter and the Curse of the IB" (because that's definitely what it is - a curse.)

I'm going through a bit of a "Potter Phase" at the moment - can you tell? I've been rereading the books - listening to the first and third on audiotape, which is quite enjoyable, good for long car trips, I've found - mostly in preparation for the 5th movie and the 7th book. I have come across a "revelation" of sorts in the 4th book, when Dumbledore finally tells Harry about the prophecy etc and the bit about how "neither can live while the other survives" and Harry finally understands and says "one of us has got to kill the other...in the end." Oooh...the anticipation! Who dies? Who lives? Who gets with who? What will Harry do in his final year having left Howarts? With the aforementioned prophecy in mind, my prediction is that Harry won't die; it's either Voldemort or Harry (a final stand-off) and I don't think J.K. would let Harry die...not after everything he's been through. But I won't know until I've read the book (obviously), which unfortunately may not be for a while; I'm considering postponing reading it until after my Spanish and English orals (in two and three weeks' time respectively) as no doubt it will be highly distracting (rereading the 4th book was bad enough!) but knowing me, I'll probably end up reading it anyway. Just so I can read it before my brother.

However, before I blog about anything else (and there's a lot), I will first present the (ahem) eagerly awaited "Central Australia: A PhotoJourney;" highlights of a trip around the Rock and the discovery of a town that's a bigger hole than Canberra: Adelaide. OK, I'm kidding about Adelaide. Kind of. I suppose it's one advantage is that it's a beautiful city. And at least the shopping is decent. Too bad the football stadium's so far out of the city and their buses suck.

The view from the plane, flying into Alice Springs. It really is as bare as it looks; you can see for miles and miles and miles and miles. Although it's not that flat, it's slightly hilly and undulating. Beautiful view from high points (eg the Rock or the air), though, unobstructed by people or buildings or smog.

Sign to everywhere...in Todd Mall, near our hotel. There were actually two of these signs. I love these kind of signs. But it just goes to show how far away Alice Springs is from everything!

I love this photo; the contrast of red, green and blue; the simplicity; the up close perspective (I had to take it lying down). It's just so bright and colourful and show how beauty can survive in the desert. It's the Sturt Desert Pea, flower of South Australia.

Drum roll please...it's The Rock. Ayer's Rock. Uluru. Whatever you want to call it. It's incredible. Huge. Mammoth. No, bigger than a mammoth. This photo is kind of cliched (I mean how many photos are there out there of the Rock? It's kinda hard to be original!) but I like it; there's just something about it that's captivating - I think it might be my use of foreground, it adds a kind of rugged beauty to the picture. It's stark and shows the Rock as it is - this huge monolith in the middle of nowhere. Up close is even more spectacular.

This is of my father and brother who I climbed the Rock with - they went ahead while I hung back to take some pics. This was one of them. I love the silhouette and the sun rising behind the Rock.

This was taken by my father of my brother (left) and I (right) peering over "the edge of the world." Pretty cool, huh? I'd never have thought of that (as a photo idea)...


One of the Rock's many multifaceted and unexpectedly lush sides.

The Olgas (meaning 'many heads').

The Olgas at sundown. Just as spectacular as the Rock at sundown.

This photo practically epitomizes the Outback landscape; rugged, rocky, red, clear blue skies, white ghost gums, patchy green shrubbery - a scene of intense beauty.

King's Canyon, which we were able to walk around the rim of. Absolutely gorgeous - it's huge, 6 km in circumference, dotted with trees and hidden valleys, pools of water shaded by palms, various rock formations and sharp cliffs like this one on many sides. A delight to explore.

A camel! This one was spotted on the side of the road, so we stopped, and I managed to snap this as he turned around. I love that I was able to capture it in such a natural setting.

Rock cairn found in Trephina Gorge. I thought it was cute, especially against such a simply picturesque background.

Fountain on the River Torrens. I particularly like the combination of the rainbow in the fountain,the green of the grass in the sun and the blue of the storm behind, all reflected on the water. If it's the only thing going for it, Adelaide is beautiful.

Another example of the beauty in Adelaide - this photo taken on the same river, in a spot close to the previous photo. In this I was trying to capture the bridge, the storm (ooh, look, a rainbow, top right corner, I didn't notice that!) and the coloured pedal boats sitting under the bridge.

I think what really captures the essence of my trip and the Outback is Dorothea Mackellar's poem My Country, which I can recite by heart.

For love of field and coppice,
Of green and shaded lanes,
Of ordered woods and gardens,
Is running in your veins.
Strong love of grey-blue distance,
Brown streams and soft, dim skies -
I know but cannot share it,
My love is otherwise.

I love a sunburnt country,
A land of sweeping plains,
Of rugged mountain ranges,
Of droughts and flooding rains.
I love her far horizon,
I love her jewel sea,
Her beauty and her terror -
The wide, brown land for me!

The stark white ring-barked forests,
All tragic to the moon,
The sapphire-misted mountains,
The hot, gold hush of noon.
Green tangle of the brushes,
Where lithe lianas coil,
And orchids deck the tree tops
And ferns the warm, dark soil.

Core of my heart, my country!
Her pitiless blue sky,
When sick at heart around us,
We see the cattle die -
But then the grey clouds gather,
And we can bless again
The drumming of an army,
The steady soaking rain.

Core of my heart, my country!
Land of the Rainbow Gold,
For flood and fire and famine,
She pays us back three-fold.
Over the thirsty paddocks,
Watch, after many days,
A filmy veil of greenness
That thickens as we gaze...

An opal-hearted country,
A wilful, lavish land -
All you who have not loved her,
You will not understand -
Though earth holds many splendours,
Wherever I may die,
I know to what brown country
My homing thoughts will fly.

I love the last verse. But the imagery, all the connections that Mackellar felt with the land, her passion for the wild beauty of this country, means so much more to me now, having experienced it's untamed splendour.

I have so much more to blog about, but Harry and my work are fighting, calling my name - which will I choose? No doubt Harry will jinx my work somehow, but I'm not complaining...I wonder if he can finish it for me? Or better yet, make it disappear?

x
Just a girl